


forbidden feelings

by marveluskai



Category: Percy Jackson & The Olympians (Movies), Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Friends, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:22:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29603109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marveluskai/pseuds/marveluskai
Summary: annabeth chase and percy jackson are best friends with one problem. they are in love with each other but haven’t admitted it. when percy gets a girlfriend, annabeth’s world is turned upside down.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Kudos: 20





	forbidden feelings

annabeth was walking to her classroom when she spotted percy at the end of the hall, standing in the doorway for another class. it was the first day of the fall semester and she hadn’t seen percy all summer. she had gone back to san francisco to spend time with her father while percy stayed in new york. they had kept in touch but they were both so busy she felt like they had grown apart. she was about to call out to him when she saw a red headed woman walk to the doorway and give him a kiss. she could only imagine what her facial expression looked like, sad, hurt and angry. she turned on her heels and made her way to her classroom, accidentally slamming the door behind her.

school wouldn’t be starting for another forty minutes so she started setting up the last minute details in her classroom for her first period students. a light knock on the door broke her concentration. she yelped and dropped the whiteboard markers in her hand. 

“come in!” she called out as she bent down to pick up the markers. 

“hey, annabeth!” percy’s voice chirped. 

she smiled at him when she stood up. she looked beautiful today, percy thought to himself. her curly, blond hair had been pulled back in a high ponytail. she was wearing black skinny jeans and a light pink sweater, which he noted complimented her eyes well. 

“hi, percy,” she smiled, placing the markers on her desk. 

“you scared me,” she added as she adjusted her sweater. 

percy wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked but he was dating rachel, he couldn’t possibly lead annabeth on. even though he was dating rachel, he couldn’t deny that his feelings for annabeth had gone away entirely. he had fallen for her hard. from the first moment he saw her, he yearned for her. she was so ethereal, smart, kind, funny and warm. her laugh sounded so angelic. her smile gave him butterflies. her touch felt electric. looking at her next to her desk his stomach flipped. 

“oh, sorry. do you want to have lunch together today? so we can catch up about our summer breaks.” he smiled at her. 

“sure, i’d love that.” she smiled back at him. 

he wished her a good first day and went to his classroom. he taught ap and honors marine biology. the first day of class they always just went over the syllabus and watched an intro to marine biology video that annabeth had helped him make. it was only 20 minutes and he always made students fill out a worksheet while watching the film. he was completely distracted during the watching time. he kept thinking about annabeth. she had gone home for the summer which was a huge bummer. he and annabeth had been close friends for years and awhile ago he developed feelings for her. they did everything together, from grading papers on friday afternoons at one of their apparentements, to going christmas tree shopping with his mom and stepdad. they’d go to the movies together, go shopping for new school outfits, and he would even go to ikea with her. they were basically dating but neither of them ever brought up the topic. 

but when annabeth was gone, he started to become more close with another teacher at their school. rachel dare was the 11th grade ap history teacher in the magnet program he and annabeth taught for. he had bumped into her at the mall and they got some lunch for the fun of it. lunches turned into dinners and dinners turned into couple titles. he never brought it up to annabeth when they talked on the phone every monday morning. as selfish as it sounded, he was hoping she would tell him she was in love with him. she never did. so, he and rachel were now officially a couple. he regretted not telling her when he heard the slam of her classroom door a couple hours earlier. she must’ve seen them kiss when she was walking to her class. when he saw her next to her desk he felt an adrenaline rush. he wanted to pick her up in his arms and hold her tight, being away from her for three months was too much. he refrained from doing so as he felt awkward about the kiss and that he was dating rachel, perhaps intimacy with another woman would not be good to the current relationship he was in. 

his classes seemed to drag on slowly, getting slower the closer it became to lunch. he imagined what annabeth was doing in class. she always did some fun math introduction games for her students so they felt comfortable in class. she taught ap and honors like he did, she had told him a few years ago that it made her feel like she was doing her job well if her students weren’t afraid of the class and didn’t feel discouraged. he was so happy when the bell rang because it meant one more period before lunch. he dismissed his students and reminded them to have a wonderful day before he shut the door. he had his office hours during this period so he cleaned up the room and got the rest of his materials prepped for the day. there was 10 minutes left before lunch started so he grabbed his lunch and made his way to annabeth’s classroom. he stood outside of her door and peaked through the glass window. she was standing at the whiteboard and smiling. he recognized a couple students in the chairs, they had been in one of the two classes he taught earlier. annabeth was sitting on the corner of her desk reminding her students that they had one assignment to complete before their next class as the bell rang. 

percy sat across from annabeth at her desk while they ate lunch. he listened to annabeth tell him more about seeing her family and how grown up her brothers were now.

“so, how was your summer?” she asked him.

“it was nice,” he smiled. 

he was about to continue speaking when a knock came from the door. they both looked over and saw rachel in the doorway, a small smile on her face. 

“i don’t mean to interrupt, i was just wondering if you have an extra whiteboard marker i can use? i forgot to grab my box from the counter before i left home and my only marker died,” rachel pondered. 

annabeth faked a smile and told her to take whichever color she wanted. rachel was gorgeous. her red hair was eye catching, she wore a beautiful plaid skirt and plain sweater and her smile was totally enchanting. annabeth was jealous rachel had percy all to herself. honestly annabeth thought that rachel only came in because percy was in her classroom and enjoying lunch with her. rachel could’ve asked literally any other teacher, but she chose annabeth. before rachel left the room she asked percy if he was still coming over later for dinner. percy blushed and said yes. rachel gave him a kiss on the cheek before leaving. annabeth felt repulsed. more than anything, she felt so heartbroken. she had the biggest crush on percy jackson and she felt so stupid for not telling him before she left for the summer. it felt so painful to see him blushing over rachel and being so into her. the few minutes they had left of lunch was the most she saw him for a long time. days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. winter break was just around the corner, percy and rachel were still together. 

annabeth felt like she was invisible to percy. he was very flaky on their friday plans, he never had lunch with her anymore and he rarely talked to her at school anymore. instead he was spending all of his time with rachel, which annabeth completely understood, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. they hadn’t even set a day to go christmas tree shopping. she called percy the saturday morning on the first day of winter break to ask when they’d go look for a christmas tree for sally, his mom. only when she called, rachel answered, and annabeth hung up immediately. she called sally instead and asked about the christmas tree plans this year which ended in tears. sally told her that percy and rachel had already gotten the tree with her and decorated it. annabeth sat on her couch in tears, her chest physically hurting. had she really not been important enough anymore that she was cut out of their plans altogether? 

annabeth looked at the box on her desk that contained percy’s gift. she was planning on giving it to him for christmas but she decided she would cut herself out of christmas instead. she got him a personalized gold statue award that said “world’s biggest finding nemo fan.” the statue itself was nemo. she wrote a brief letter wishing him a merry christmas and mentioned how dearly she missed him. she said she she hoped he was doing well and that he enjoy his new year. she gave the gift and letter to sally, asking she give it to percy for her. sally wanted to ask her to come over for christmas like she always did, but sally understood it was too hard on annabeth. christmas morning came around and percy and rachel went over to his mom’s for the day. they exchanged gifts like normal, drinking hot chocolate while music played in the background. sally handed percy the last gift in the pile. 

“it’s from annabeth,” she said softly.

percy’s face dropped. he was so stupid. he didn’t get annabeth anything. he didn’t invite her to go look for a christmas tree. he didn’t even wish her a merry christmas. he opened the gift and smiled, his heart feeling heavy. he wasn’t positive, but he swore he saw rachel roll her eyes and look disgusted at the gift. he thought it was wonderful. when they left later that night sally slipped him the letter without rachel knowing. “promise me you’ll read it,” sally said. 

he did read it. he called her and thanked her for the gift, swearing he would give her hers as soon as possible. new year’s eve passed and suddenly it was the first day of spring semester. annabeth was dreading seeing percy but felt stupid. she wouldn’t be seeing him, he’d be too busy with rachel. annabeth was at her desk organizing papers when percy walked in. she ignored him. percy placed a box on her desk. she still didn’t say anything. 

“i’m sorry,” percy said. 

“you have nothing to be sorry for, i’m not your girlfriend,” she spoke harshly. 

“i know you hate me and that i’ve been an awful friend for the past few months, but i hope you enjoy your gift,” he said quietly. 

annabeth could hear the hurt in his voice and that hurt her even more. 

“thank you,” she said back. 

“i have to finish organizing this, can we talk later?” she asked, not really meaning it. 

she didn’t have that much work left, but it was too hard to hold in her tears. percy said okay and left the room. it took every ounce of strength for annabeth to keep the tears in and not cry. percy jackson would not get any more tears from her. again, hours went on to days and days went on to weeks. annabeth was at home alone on a saturday evening grading papers, a sad romcom on in the background, when she heard a knock at her door. she wasn’t expecting any visitors. she sighed and went to get the door. when she opened the door she wanted to slam it in his face. percy was standing at her door, a bag of food in his hand. she walked to the kitchen without saying a word, letting percy close the door behind himself. she grabbed two forks and plates before sitting at the dining room table. 

“why didn’t you open your gift?” percy blurted, seeing the wrapped present he gave her sitting on her desk. 

“why didn’t you come talk to me later?” she said back, venom dripping off the end of each word. 

“why didn’t you tell me i wasn’t going christmas tree shopping with you and your family? why didn’t you invite me to christmas? why didn’t you formally let me know ‘sorry annabeth i’m cancelling our plans for the millionth time but you won’t know until i don’t show up’? why didn’t you talk to me while at work? why didn’t you tell me yourself that you didn’t want me anymore in your life, percy? why didn’t YOU?” with each question her voice got louder. 

annabeth didn’t have the energy to stop her tears in that moment. they came pouring down her cheeks like a rainy day in new york. percy wanted to hold her in his arms, to wipe her tears off of her cheeks. he wanted to beg for her forgiveness, he wanted to ask her what he could do to make it better. he wanted to go back to the day he saw rachel at the mall and not ask her to go get lunch. he wanted to do so many things so annabeth wouldn’t be crying. his heart was pounding in his chest. the sound of her sobs was heartbreaking. seeing annabeth hold her face with her hands while she cried was not what he thought would happen tonight. 

“why wasn’t i enough?” she said quietly, almost too quietly for percy to hear.

“why didn’t you want me?” she looked up at him. 

her gray eyes were muddy and bloodshot. he was silent but he wanted to say a million things to her. she wasn’t enough, she was more than enough. he wanted her, he wanted her for so long. god he was so head over heels in love with her. of course he wanted to her. 

“i love you,” he said confidently. 

annabeth hiccuped, looking at him like he said something completely weird. 

“i have loved you for a few years now. you know that day we went to the beach because it was supposed to be a sunny and warm day? and you brought a bunch of worksheets to grade because you had fallen behind in grading, but then it started raining and the wind blew all of the papers away and you frantically tried chasing after them. i had to drag you to the car so you wouldn’t get soaked getting those stupid papers. when you got in the car you were so cold so i gave you my hoodie from the backseat and you turned on the heater full blast. all it took was one look at you in my hoodie in that moment and i knew i was in love with you. i should have told you right then and there. i should have kissed you. i should have kissed you so many times. i don’t know what i can say to take back any pain i’ve caused you these past months. i don’t know what i can say to tell you how sorry i am for being so stupid and hurting you. i broke up with rachel, that’s what i came here for tonight, because i am so in love with you, annabeth.” he felt the blush creep up on his cheeks. 

annabeth was quiet. she was pondering if she should say “ya know, percy? i love you too,” or “that window is closed, percy. you had your chances.” she wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her sweatshirt. his green eyes looked so alluring. she felt weak in her knees. she noticed percy’s leg bouncing up and down, he always did that when he was nervous. she still didn’t say anything when she got up and grabbed her present from her desk. she sat down and tore the paper off the box. she looked in the box and saw a frame. percy made a collage of his favorite pictures of them throughout the years. he wanted her to know she still mattered to him. he had his mom help him out it together(not that he would ever admit this to another person). 

“i have loved you for so long and you do matter to me. you’re not enough because you are everything i could ever want, you are more than enough, annabeth. you are my best friend. you have been there for me through thick and thin. you have showed me nothing but love, care and happiness. my favorite moments are moments with you. i’m not asking you to jump into a relationship with me. i’m just asking you to not hate me. you hating me would be the worst thing in the world. i’ve already lost you once, i don’t want to lose you again,” his voice was hushed. he got up from the chair and walked towards her, kissing her forehead before walking towards the door. 

“please don’t go,” she grabbed his hand. 

she stood up, dropping his hand. she wanted to hate him, truly, she wanted to. her best friend, her soulmate, had just confessed his feelings for her and was standing only a few feet away from her. she missed the feeling of his touch, the electricity it left on her skin. she missed his voice. she missed his smile. she wrapped her arms tightly around his body, her head resting on his chest. she could hear his heartbeat quicken as he wrapped his arms around her. they stayed like that for awhile before annabeth pulled away and looked up at his face. percy gave her a curious look. she placed her hands on the side of his face, standing on the tips of her toes, and kissed him. not a peck on the lips, but a deep kiss, a kiss that told him she loved him back. a kiss that sparked electricity through both of their bodies, made them both warm. percy pulled her closer, as if that was even possible, and kissed her back. her lips tasted like honey and felt so soft, he wasn’t sure if her touch made his knees weak or if the lack of oxygen from the long kiss was making him feel light instead. he pulled away first. they both breathed heavily.

“i love you, too.”


End file.
